Ms Richard With

Great ship .fantastic food .great staff .plenty of areas to sit

A delightful and interesting cruise to explore the Norwegian coast on a "working ship" with delicious food and informative presentation staff coupled with many options to further explore attractions along the route.

I went on the New Year Cruise along the Norwegian Coast New Year 2011. I booked a dog sledging trip but it was cancelled due to no snow. I also booked a look out to see the Northern Lights but unfortunately did not see them. They came a week later after I disembarked. I spent over £1,100 for the cruise and was very disappointed. The ship itself was nice though I must have had a cabin above the engines as I felt a load grinding noise under me. My friend had a smaller cabin but no noise. I always have dreamed about seeing the Northern Lights but have not booked another cruise for fear of missing them again and the cost involved. The food on board was great. Teresa Bowley-Hayes

This is a brief review of the 21st December 2014 Xmas/New Year sailing. I had read mixed reviews about Hurtigruten but was very keen to do this voyage in the winter. The ship was very good - nice size and comfortable warm lounges, good size restaurant - free seating for buffet breakfast and lunch and because of numbers there were 2 dinner sieatings onboard at allocated tables. The waiting staff were extremely cheerful and helpful - my husband couldn't eat some of the fixed menu, but alternatives were arranged for him. As others have mentioned, the alcohol was expensive, but this is just the norm for Norway and not over-priced on the ship - you can take your own alcohol onboard and drink it in the cabin however. The tea/coffee deal at 349 krone for 12 days was really good value (and decaff was available). Again, as others have said, you have to pay for water with your meal - I agree with them that this is something that Hurtigruten should re-consider. We had very nice cakes and gluhwine on Christmas Eve and also sparkling wine on New Years Eve and at the farewell dinner. We did 4 excursions and all we considered to be of very high quality with excellent and knowledgeable guides.  I would thoroughly recommend the husky sledding which was the highlight of our trip! If you are not a reasonable sailor, I wouldn't recommend the trip in the winter as the water did get quite choppy on occasion and some people were quite seasick. We also had to miss 3 stops as a storm came in and we had to run to get ahead of it although this didn't detract from the trip in any way. There really isn't much to do onboard, so you really do need to make your own amusement or be happy to read, chat and watch the world go by which by the way is absolutely stunning even if it was dark most of the time! There was a singer in the bar in the evening and our tour guide did try to put activities on such as making gingerbread houses and Xmas decorations which was good fun. The organisation upon arrival could have been better. It was raining hard in Bergen and due to the redevelopment of the airport it was not easy to find the Hurtigruten pick up point. When we did find it, there was only one coach which was not enough for all those arriving on the flight (booked by Hurtigruten). We had to wait at least half an hour for another coach to come by which time we were all completely soaked through. Once this was sorted out however, everything worked smoothly. All in all a trip of a lifetime - I can't wait to go back and do it in the summer!